The Secret War on Mindfulness and How Not To Be Affected

There is an information war going on, and people who are not keyed in to the tactics are getting caught in the crossfire. The tactics are disgusting, vile, and dangerously effective. We are seeing propaganda use in levels not seen in a very long time. It begs the question…

Are We All Going Crazy?

I can’t go on Facebook anymore without one of my connections going bat sh*t crazy over some new headline they just read. It’s as if the glue that’s held this all together is becoming brittle and cracking. Otherwise peaceful and educated people appear to be losing it, on public forums.

Day in and day out I’m seeing polarization at the micro and macro level. People are getting divorced over who they are voting for. This is like the beginning of the civil war but with many more ideological vectors… or is it?

While things seem scary, and they are, it’s how we react that matters. We can’t change or argue with “crazy,” but we CAN control our reaction to it, thereby limiting it’s impact. If enough people learn to do this, and create a critical mass, we can avert the negative, focus on the positive, and fix things way before they fall apart.

Here are a few things to watch out for lately. They need not affect you if you know what to do. Learn to practice mindfulness and get a handle on your own mind, then you’ll see through the bullsh*t and become “mostly” immune. I’ll be adding to this as I see different tactics being used… It’s late right now, so excuse the grammar lol.

The Scourge of the Memes

If you watch the news or hang out on social media, you’ve no doubt come across memes. These are those really crazy pictures with captions on them, usually made to inflame emotion or really insult and degrade people of opposing viewpoints. They can be entertaining, but often just end up as digital trash and hurtful graffiti.

While you may be entertained by them, they are more sinister than they lead on. All you have to do is go to Facebook to see what I’m talking about. Then again, if you are reading this, you probably don’t want to give too much attention to them. They have a way of derailing your peace of mind, even if you practice mindfulness regularly.

These things are especially prevalent in the election cycle, and tend to rile people up and incite fear, anger, and in extreme cases, action. They are propaganda, and not dissimilar from war propaganda used by the Allies and Axis in World War Two. Even more heinously, though, by Joseph Goebbels. There are specific groups and “news” websites employing his tactics directly. I won’t name them here.

I’ll not take sides here, as I know my readers have differing political views, and this site isn’t about politics. It’s about helping you wake up by using mindfulness and other tools. I do, however, feel a need to address the craziness going on in the USA right now from a position of mindfulness.

Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric

I’d written about logic and rhetoric in elections here. It holds true today far more than it did in the past, and you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to read it. You’ll educate yourself enough to see through all the bullsh*t out there and give yourself a position of strength when it comes to voting for whomever you want, or just getting through this political mess. Your vote won’t come from manipulation and fear, or worse, anger and hate, but a place of empathy and love, regardless of which “side” you’re on.

There, that said, it’s more important now than ever to practice mindfulness. The world needs people with clearer heads to prevail over the mindlessness. We need people who can make decisions based on truth, not propaganda.

I’ll be adding to this article as time goes on. I just needed to get it started, so bookmark it…